Resonators,12th or 14th fret

[phudthumper]

Just curious why some reso's meet the body at the 12th or 14th fret? The one I have meets at the 14th ,which I tend to perfer to be able to reach the higher registers.  I noticed alot of the tricones do meet at the 12th.Any that meet at the 14th?  I was not sure if it was a body style issues or what. I am looking at getting a new one and have been eyeballing the Gretsch Honey Dipper and a Recording King, Both have similar body styels but where the neck and body join are at differnt fret levels. I know  its only two, but....

 

 

 

[Verne Andru]

No experience with those but when building a traditional guita,r 12th at the body tends to put the bridge in the centre of the guitar's lower body which can give a deeper, mellower tone. There are other considerations as well, such as bracing you're using, etc.

Having said ^^ I don't think those factors play into the build/design of a resonator as the bridge is always in the center of the cone [which does the amplifying] and bracing isn't the same issue as on a regular guitar.

So I think the decision would be one of aesthetics and fret access as I can't see it having much, if any, tonal difference on a reso. But I could be wrong.

 

[Neal]

There are some tonal differences between the National 12 and 14 fret.  Not major, but there. 

[personal opinion] 12 fret resonators simply look better, and are no more difficult to hit the upper registers.  They're even easier to hit the 12th with a bottleneck because your hand has someplace to stop.  Not a lot of play goes on past the 12th anyway, and if it does, those two frets don't make a lot of difference in most bottleneck styles.[/personal opinion]  YMMV.